Thomas Layton: Born in Chiswick, bred in Brentford

Thomas Layton collected books, coins, and archaeological items (usually described as ‘antiquities’) for 70 years. In that time he had accumulated what has been described as “probably the largest collection of London antiquities ever amassed by a single individual”. See The Layton Collection.

The vast majority of items are believed to have been bought at auctions. Some came to him from his men working on the river. His businesses provided opportunities for finds from dredging, building of bridges and embankments along the banks of the Thames, for which Layton paid good money. Even by the standards of the day Layton kept poor records of where items were found. Despite this, the collection is considered highly important particularly to archaeologists and pre-historians.

Layton lived in Brentford, Middlesex between 1826 and 1911, but was born in 1819 at Strand on the Green, just downstream of Kew Bridge. When he was 6 years old his family moved across the parish boundary into Brentford and he spent the remainder of his life in the same house, 22 Kew Bridge Road.

He bequeathed his remarkable collection of over 20,000 objects to the people of Brentford. The collection has had a turbulent history and today is divided between several locations. lived in Brentford, Middlesex between 1826 and 1911.

The website reveals more about Layton’s collecting and what happened to his collection after his death. Follow the Layton Trail to see what evidence still exists today.